String-bean snipper.



s-s'HsET y1` d Ap SHEET Patente K. M. DAVIES.

STRING BEAN SNIPPER.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 11,1911. 1,136,588.

K. M. DAVIES.

sTRlNG BEAN SNIPPER.'

APPLICATION FILED MAR. II. |911. 1,136,588. Patented Apr. 20, 1915.

N a *I In ya N HE NDRRIS PEI'ERS CO.. FHOTO-LITHO.. WASHINGTON. D. C.

K. M. DAVIES.

STRING BEAN SNIPPER.

APPLlcATloN FILED mlm. 11. 191|.

THE MORRIS PETERS C0.. PHGTO-LITHO.. WASHINGTON. DA

KERRISON IVI. DAVIES, OF WILLIAMSON, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO GEORGE W.COBB,

F NEW YORK, N. Y.

STRING-BEAN SNIPPEB..

Application filed March 11, 1911.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, Knnnrson M. DAvnis, ofWilliamson, Wayne county, and State of New York, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in String-Bean Snippers; and I do herebydeclare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of thesame, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a partof this specification, and to the reference-numerals ,Y marked thereon.

The present invention relates to string bean snippers, or apparatus forremoving the ends of string beans, and has for its object to provide amachine adapted to operate successfully with beans of all lengths.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a machine which isentirely automatic in its operation, requiring only to be fed, andcapable of a very large output.

To these and other ends the invention consists in certain improvementsand combination of parts, all as willV be hereinafter more fullydescribed, the novel features being pointed outfin the claims at the endof the specification.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a top plan view of a machine showing apreferred embodiment of my invention; Fig. 2 is a view in verticalsection on the line a-a of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a view in elevation, partlyin section, showing the feeding mechanism of the machine, and Figs. 4and 5 are detail sectional views showing the operation of the cuttingdevices. f

The chief difficulty in machines of this character is to make itpossible to snip oil only the ends of the beans, no matter how long orshort they may be, readily and eiliciently, and to this end, in theembodiment of my invention as herein illustrated, the beans aresupported alternately on their opposite end and are severed or cut attheir supporting ends, so that the length of the bean in no way ai'iectsthe operation of the machine. For this purpose, there are provided aplurality of supports land a single support 2, arranged to successivelysupportV the opposite ends of a bean, suitable means being employed tomaintain one end against one support, and movable to eifect the shiftingof the bean to its other end and on the other support.

The shifting means comprises a series of Specification of LettersPatent.

Patented am. 2o, isis. Serial No. 613,887.

guides preferably in the form of open ended hoppers 3 pivoted at 4 andhaving the supports 1 arranged in spaced relation to their lower ends.The beans may be fed individually into the guides in any convenientmanner, as for example, by the devices hereinafter described, and areheld in upright position while a suitable cutting device severs theirsupporting ends. Each guide is moved to inverted position after thelower end of its bean is severed, so as to discharge the bean intoanother guide, such as an open ended hopper 5 located above the support2 and maintaining the opposite end of the bean against the support whilea suitable cutting device severs the latter supporting Vend.

To rotate the guides, I may employ a rotary carrierv in the form of adisk 6 journaled on a post 7 and having an upwardly extending sleeve 8to which the driving mechanism is secured, the sleeve in the presentinstance, having a beveled gear wheel 9 secured thereto, the latterbeing arranged for engagement with a pinion 10 on a shaft 11 journaledin a bracket 12 which extends from the upper end of the post, the shaft11 being driven by a band pulley 13.

The guides 3 and 5 may be arranged on the rotary carrier in twoconcentric annular series, the inner series of guides 5 preferablyhaving laterally extending horizontal flanges 14 which are bolted to thecarrier at 15, while the outer series of guides 3 may be pivoted to theinner series 5 as at 4, an adjustable stop 16 being carried by each oneof the guides 5 to maintain the swinging guides 3 in proper verticalposition, when lowered.

The guides 3 are each provided with a support 1 adapted to hold the beanuntil one end is severed, and while the guide is being raised toinverted position, the support being preferably in the form of a diskbolted to a lug 17 depending from the lower end of the guide to spacethe support from said end.

Between the lower end of the guide 3 and the support 1, there is a spacewhich receives the cutting device. The latter consists ofa stationaryhorizontally arranged cutter or knife 18, adjustably secured to a post19, and coperating with the lower end of the guides during theirmovement past the cutter, the post 19 of the cutter being supported, ifdesired, on a table 20 arranged beneathV the carrier and secured Vto thepost 7. Y U i The inverting of the guides 3 may be effected'by anysuitable means, a cam 2l carried by a support 2la being provided in the.present instance and passi-ng from a point slightly beyond the cutter 18andbelow the rotary carrier, thence outwardly and upwardly and thenceinwardly 'and upwardly to a point 22, where the guides 3 are inverteddirectly Vabove the guides 5, so as to discharge their contents into thelatter. The guides 3 from this point are moved to their normal positionsby a suitable device preferably comprising a cani 23 supported from theupright 7, an extension 24 on the cam 2l serving to guide the guides intheir downward movement.

The beans are received in the guides 5 in an inverted position, theirends resting on the support 2, which in the present construc-Y tion iscarried'by the table or frame 20 so that the guides 5v may travelthereover. The support is preferably of arcuate shape, and extends fromnear the point 22 to an opening 2% in the frame or table 20, a cutting.device, preferably in the form Vof a hori-V zontally positioned knifeblade or cutterV 25 supported from the table by a post 26, beingpositioned to engage the supporting ends of the beans as they pass theknife, resting pockets 29 in'its periphery each adaptedto receivek asingle bean, and coperatingwith' the feedv wheel is a roller 30 having asmooth periphery 'and acting by itsjrotation in a direction opposite tothe direction of rota- Y tion of the feed wheel to prevent crowding ofthe beans and toagitate and presentthem in a proper position to beindividually received by the transverse pockets of the feed wheel.Arranged to receive theY beans from the feed wheel is a chute 31 whichis formed so as to .feed the beans in a vertical position to the guides,and having for this purpose a width at its upper end'suflicient topermit it to receive the beans while they are horizontally arranged, andgradually decreasing in width toward its lower end, the desired endbeing'attained by ,forming one side walll so that the upper end of thebean is supported, whilethe' opposite 'end is lowered, as shown at 32.'The chute at its lower end rides, onthe upper ends ofthe guidesf3', andVfor this purpose swings Vabout a pivot 33, the spaces between thevguides 3 being closed by stops 34 which `prevent the discharge ofbeansrat this point. rI he driving of the feeding mechanism may beeifected by providing a sprocket Lwheel 35' on the drive sfhaftll andconnecting this sprocket t0 il Sprocket 36 on one end of the shaft ofthe roller 3.0, thel other end of said shaft carrying. a gear 3'( whichmeshes witha gear 38 on the sha-ft of the feed wheel 28.

ln operation,Y the beans areffed to the hopper27 by hand or otherwise,Vand aredeposiited into the guides'3fon one of'Y their ends which aresnipped as the guides pass the.

cutter 18. The. snipped beans are then inverted into guides 5 and duringthe passage of the latter over support 2, their other ends are snipped,after which, upon the end of the support being reached,rthey areVdischarged into a suitable receptacle.

l claim as my invention.

l. In a string-,bean snipper, the combina tion with a pair of" supportsone of whichv is-movable above the other, of guides for maintaining thebeans upright uponthe sup; ports and cutters arranged to snip theV endsof the beanswhile on'theV supports.

2. ln astring-beansnipper, the combinationwith V'a pair of'supports, ofa pair of guides for holding a bean with opposite ends against therespective supports, one of saidV guide; supports being. movablev todischarge its bean to the other guide Vin an inverted position, andVcutters. for. operation on the supporting ends of the bean.

3. In a string-bean' snipper, the.y combination with a plurality oftravelingsupports,VV

of a plurality ofz guides movablewith the supports, a feeding mechanismforzdepositingbeans within the guides, a second set.- of travelingguides, devices for moving the firstset of guides to cause them todischarge into .the secondV set, asupport'for. beans in.

the second set ofguides over which'the lat: ter travel, andcuttersfforremoving thesup.-

porting ends ofV beans while in the guides. Y

Y 4. In a string-bean snipper.,.thec'ombi'na-f` tion with a 'rotarycarrier, of an annular by, la series/of supports Vcarried by themovseries of guides carried thereby, an annular.V series of swingingguides also carried thereable guides, and a support over which the firstnamedseries of guides travel.

5. In a string-bean snipper, thecombinai* tion with Vtwo series.ofguides, one of which 1s' movable to discharge 4into the other, of aseries of supportsv carried by and arranged in spaced relation to themovable guides,a

fixed :support over which: the other series of guides-pass, and cuttersarranged Vto en-V gage between the guides and the. supports.

6l In a string-beansnipper, thecoinbination withrtwo series .of vopenended hoppers, the hoppers ofV one series being mounted to l swing soasY to discharge into the hoppers of the other series, of a set ofsupports carried by the swinging hoppers in spaced relation to the lowerends of the latter, a iXed support over which the other series travelsin spaced relation thereto, and cutters operating between the hoppersand the supports.

ln a string-bean snipper, the combination with a rotary carrier, of afeeding mechanism, a set of open ended hopper shaped guides swinginglymounted on the carrier, supports carried by the lower ends of the guidesin spaced relation thereto, a second set of open ended hopper shapedguides on the carrier, a device for causing the swingingly mountedguides to discharge into the other guides, a support over which thesecond set of guides travels during a portion of their movement, andfixed cutters for operating on the lower ends of beans while in each setof guides.

S. In a string-bean snipper, the combination with two series of guides,one series being mounted to swing and discharge into the other series,of a cam acting on the swingingly mounted series to effect their upwardmovement, supports carried by the swinging guides, a liXed support overwhich the other series travels, and cutters for operating on the beanswhile on the supports.

9. In a string-bean snipper, the combina- Copies of thispatent may beobtained for five cents each, by addressing the tion with two series ofguides, one series being mounted to swing and discharge into the otherseries, of a cam acting on the swinging series to effect their upwardmovement, a device engaging the swinging guides to return them to theirnormal positions, sup` ports carried by the swinging guides, a fixedsupport over which the other series travels, and cutters for operatingon the beans while on the supports.

l0. The combination with a table anda rotatable carrier, of two annularseries of guides on the carrier, one series being mounted to swing todischarge into the other, supports on the swinging guides, a cutterarranged on the table to sever the lower ends of the beans resting onthe supports, a support on the table for the other guides, and a fixedcutter adapted to engage between the support and the guides.

11. In a string bean snipper, the combination with a series of movableguides, of a chute pivoted above the guides riding on the upper ends ofthe latter, and a cutter arranged to snip the ends of beans in theguides.

KERRISON M. DAVES. yWitnesses:

H. A. TELLIER, J. L. TREMSNE.

Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C.

